Making cents of it all—a local practice’s approach to personalized financial planning in a pandemic

Left: Phil Decallejon. Right: Anthony Perez.

Financial advisors deliver personalized financial advice to help you achieve your goals, today and tomorrow. But what happens when traditional in-person meetings of today—reviewing budgets, savings, goals, and investments with the advisor sitting across from you— are no longer possible? A global pandemic could leave you feeling stranded just as life and the markets become more uncertain.

For West Los Angeles-based Orchard Financial Group, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services LLC, our team was already prioritizing bringing the most personal aspects of financial planning and goal setting to the virtual space when March 2020 began. Then the world shifted, and the ability to work remotely took on an entirely new level of importance.

Anthony Perez, Private Wealth Advisor, and Phil Decallejon, Financial Advisor with Orchard Financial Group, decided early on in March 2020 that a seamless and immediate shift to a virtual environment was needed; both to protect staff and help ensure clients knew—regardless of the changing world around them – that their financial advisors’ commitment to helping them achieve their goals would remain consistent. A new promise emerged: continue to provide and enhance the level of personalized service offered to clients during the pandemic and beyond.

The latter part of this shift involved two key features —first, ensuring that clients can check-in with their financial plan, investments, and the advice team remotely from anywhere, at any time. With nearly 60% of meetings already being conducted online pre-pandemic, virtual meeting capabilities were offered to all clients and personal videoconferencing sessions were introduced to help those new to digital platforms navigate with ease. Coupled with Ameriprise Financial’s ongoing commitment to mobility applications, clients can access accounts, performance, and check progress on their financial goals from any mobile device, at any time.

The second key aspect for delivering their service promise, Orchard Financial Group used the first few months of the pandemic to increase communication with clients—not mass communications—but rather through personal calls, e-mails and video meetings to check-in on their clients’ health, personal and financial. Decallejon and Perez credit these personal contacts for easing concerns of clients due to the uncertainty that the volatile markets and shifting economy heightened. Seeking to stand out from colleagues in the industry, Decallejon and Perez were determined to be proactive with their contact efforts, reaching out when they felt their research, tools, and experience could be beneficial to clients in times of increased stress.

These personal contacts have become a mainstay for Decallejon, Perez, and the rest of the Orchard Financial Group team one year later. Ultimately, they know these interactions have helped deepen their client relationships: serving as a reminder to their clients that their advisory team is not only there for their financial needs but also truly committed to helping them reaching their goals, today and tomorrow, and enjoying as much of life as they can along the way.

Now, both Decallejon and Perez have committed to expanding this personal approach to financial planning through giving back in their local communities. By launching a monthly series of articles, Phil and Anthony are striving to expand access to relevant financial planning material and market research to their neighbors. Longstanding residents of West LA, both Decallejon and Perez are passionate about the area and their neighbors. Stay tuned to hear more from them in the coming months.

If your financial advisory team has not contacted you within the last few months, think about contacting Anthony Perez and Phil Decallejon—their practice is committed to a more meaningful approach to financial planning.

Investment products are not federally or FDIC-insured, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by any financial institution, and involve investment risks including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value.